To mark the 60th anniversary of the partnership between AFD and Niger, a publication and an exhibition take a look back at this unique adventure and show rare images, a memory of our common history.

1958-2018: AFD has been supporting Niger for six decades. Drinking water, energy, education, but also health, transport, financial inclusion, industrialization, governance, urban development and rural territories... AFD works in all these sectors to improve the daily lives of people.

60 years of activity alongside our Nigerien partners, with whom we work on a daily basis to create ties, build bridges, and (re)build lives. To date, EUR 600m – including EUR 120m in 2017 alone – have been committed for cities and rural areas.

60 years of sharing via a hundred or so programs which have benefited Nigeriens seen through the zoom of Ollivier Girard: through the prism of photos from yesterday and today, the photographer takes us back to the origins of a history in common. As we look at the images, which are real historical testimonies, Niger takes shape, grows and develops. We are proud to contribute to this.

Caisse Centrale de Coopération Economique diversified its support for Niger’s investments in the late 1970s, with a focus on telecommunications, by extending the terrestrial and television networks to the schools which existed at the time.

In 1992, Caisse Centrale de Coopération Economique became Caisse Française de Développement. It financed investments in the expansion of the capital, including certain paved roads, for example, in the Bosso and Malibero neighborhoods.

Caisse Française de Développement became Agence Française de Développement (AFD) in 1998. Since the 2000s, AFD has been financing social sectors, with a focus on education. Without education, there is neither peace nor a future for youth.

In addition to education, AFD’s largest commitments are for investments in the water and energy sectors. Without water, there is neither agriculture nor food security. These investments include the Goudel plant and a number of water towers in Niamey, such as those in Yantala (above).

Without energy, there is no economic and social development. AFD is helping the Nigerien Electricity Company (Nigelec) increase its generation and distribution capacity, with a focus on the peri-urban and rural sectors.